Do Hard Times Make Us Meaner?

I read recently an article from MSNBC reporter Eve Tahmincioglu entitled “Hard times drive some mean bosses over the edge”.

The gist of her story is that, in tough economic times, a mean or petty boss can transform into a truly abusive Genghis Khan. Workers are often driven by fear of the same economic uncertainties, and tend to suffer in silence--encouraging even more bad behavior. Morale plummets and productivity spirals.

I heard a story from a business acquaintance about how her boss maintained a climate of fear by threatening to banish employees to “the cooler”—a windowless office that was known as the last stop before the unemployment line. His trick was to rescue them at the last minute after extracting promises of closed-mouth loyalty. Anyone who has suffered under such a boss can imagine how ratcheting up the stress even more would affect everyone’s mental health.

Are times really that bad? I have yet to see former executives selling apples on the corner of Church and North Market Street. Our increased stress is fed by a daily diet of bad news in the national media, and we can all probably relate stories from closer to home about the impact on our neighbors and colleagues. With little good economic news to counter the bad, is the ambient level of workplace civility suffering?

I am an optimist: While it’s true that a mean boss will only get meaner under stress, most people don’t behave that way-- and tend to apologize if they slip up with a sharp remark. I also like to think that colleagues and neighbors band together when times are tough.

Tahmincioglu does give some suggestions in her article. The first one is to talk to your mean boss about his or her behavior. I guess it’s worth a try…The one I like best is “Say Goodbye”. But in this economy, that may not be an option. There might be some other strategies before one hits the streets.

Any ideas?

-Dave